Wednesday, March 2, 2022
There is a difference between survival (merely staying alive) and being alive (vibrant living). Surviving is living for the weekend. Surviving is hanging on, putting up with all of the rubbish that you have to deal with, just to clear some space for future’s anticipated happiness. But what about now? Where does now fit into your life?
Many people live their lives in “survival mode.” Everything you do in survival mode feels sacrificial, a means to an end. But what about that moment, the one you’ve fantasized about? When or if it even arrives, will it feel like the utopia that you’ve anticipated? Rarely does it ever feel like you’ve “arrived,” and if it does, the feeling won’t last long. The truth is, if you’re not happy now, you won’t be happy this weekend, next month, or when you retire.
Being alive, vibrancy, is an immersion into the present moment, no matter what it contains. It’s a total surrender, a form of letting go that makes worry fade to black. You can find vibrancy in nature, for example. Nature’s vibrancy is a way of life, not a means to life. It’s comfortable. It’s peaceful. It’s a feeling that you’d rather be no where else, in no other circumstance, and in no other time frame. Get comfy by merging into whatever you are doing, and wherever you are. Let yourself accept and fully love your surroundings, your current tasks, and in being in the body that you occupy. Anchor yourself in that body. Feel the grounding of being, the vibrancy of life within you, rather than the pushing-ahead sensation, caused by the mental tug of getting to the future. Try to stay put. Let yourself be cozy. Come down to earth, don’t fly away, worrying and anticipating future’s arrival. There’s nothing to wait for, there’s absolutely nothing coming. So stop being in survival mode, it’s only making you anxious, and it’s ruining any chance for happiness, right this very moment.